At UN, minister warns of rising violence against women
Brazilian Women’s Minister Cida Gonçalves stressed the need to step up the fight against femicide and the various forms of violence against women worldwide. The speech was given during her participation in the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), at the New York headquarters of the on Monday (Mar. 10).
Commission meetings at the UN are considered the most important international forum for the formulation of global efforts for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
“We have to move forward on the issue of women’s right to life. Violence against women and femicide have increased in our country, especially sexual violence against women, girls, and adolescents. We need to implement specialized services. We need to guarantee legislation that makes abortion legal, so that women [victims of violence] can have access to services and care,” Minister Gonçalves said.
The event takes place from March 10 to 21. Brazil will be responsible for two panel discussions. The first, on March 13, is entitled Women in the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. The second, on March 18, is Online Misogyny: the Challenges of Confronting Hatred and All Forms of Violence and Discrimination Against Women.
“We need to discuss the inclusion of women living in poverty. Poor women are black women; they are single mothers; they are those in miserable conditions. That’s why we are spearheading the issue of the Global Alliance Against Hunger in Brazil,” she added.
Women’s Commission
The New York event celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), considered a milestone for the advancement of women’s rights worldwide and the largest multilateral treaty on the subject. It includes 12 areas of concern and has been used to guide governments and social institutions on initiatives to advance this agenda.
The debates at CSW69 aim to review and evaluate the implementation of such initiatives.
